Spirit in the Sky
by SpiritAlpha
Summary: After discovering a mysterious orb, space outlaw Peter Quill and his partner in crime, Alyssa, team up with a gang of misfits - the assassin Gamora, the maniacal Drax the Destroyer and thugs Groot and Rocket Raccoon - to fight Ronan the Accuser and save the galaxy. [AU of Guardians of the Galaxy]
1. Come And Get Your Love

**Location:** **Morag**

Peter Quill walked across the landscape of Morag, on his way to the temple to collect the Orb. His helmet protected his face from the wind and the rain battering down on the surface of the planet. He stopped and took a gadget out of his bag, using it to map out a holographic path towards the temple.

Using the hologram, he made his way to the temple and put the gadget back in his bag as he walked inside and removed his helmet.

" _Peter? Please tell me you're not going to listen to music whilst you're on a job_." The voice of his co-pilot, Alyssa, said into his earpiece. He laughed as he unhooked his headphones from his belt.

"You know I always have my music playing during a job, Alyssa." he said.

" _Fine._ " she sighed. " _What are you going to play?_ " Peter put the headphones on and switched on his Walkman, starting to dance as the opening beats of Redbone's _Come And Get Your Love_ played. " _Good choice._ "

He danced along to the music through the temple until he got to where the Orb was being kept inside an energy field. Peter used a gravity device to remove it from the field and picked it up. He turned round to see mercenaries pointing guns at him.

"Ah, crap." Peter muttered.

"Drop it!" The leader said.

" _Who was that?_ " Alyssa asked, concerned.

"I have no idea." he replied.

"Drop it now!"

"Ok, man, no problem! No problem at all!" Peter exclaimed, dropping the Orb as the mercs moved behind him.

"How do you know about this?" The leader asked, picking up the Orb and holding it out.

"I don't even know what that is." said Peter. "I'm just a junker, man. I was just checking stuff out."

"You don't look like a junker. You're wearing Ravager garb!"

" _Checking voice recognition_ "

"This is just an outfit, man." said Peter, ignoring Alyssa's laugh of disbelief. He turned to the henchmen who were prodding him with their guns. "Ninja Turtle, you better stop poking me."

" _Even in dangerous situations, you can't stop making_ _Terran_ _references._ " said Alyssa. He could almost hear her smiling. " _This guy is Korath the Pursuer. He's a Kree mercenary._ "

"What is your name?" Korath asked.

"My name is Peter Quill, ok? Dude, chill out."

"Move!"

"Why?"

"Ronan may have questions for you." said Korath, turning to leave.

" _Ronan the Accuser_." Alyssa told him. " _He's a Kree warlord. Korath must be working for him._ "

"Hey, you know what?" Peter asked Korath. "There's another name you might know me by!" Korath stopped and looked back at him.

" _Don't..._ "

"Star-Lord."

" _Goddammit, Peter!_ "

"Who?" asked Korath.

"Star-Lord, man. Legendary outlaw." Peter said, ignoring Alyssa's laughing on the other end of the comm link. "Guys? Oh, forget this!"

Peter pulled out his guns and shot the two henchmen behind him, then shot Korath when the latter tried to pick up the Orb. Korath got back up and managed to hit him with gunfire. Peter fell down to the ground, put on his helmet and used his rocket boots to fly out of the cave back to his ship.

"Alyssa!" he called to her, as he ran back to the ship.

" _Already on it_." she replied.

The orange and blue Ravager M-ship flew up and fired her guns at the mercenaries who were chasing him. She turned on her side, allowing him to jump through the open window and land in the seat next to Alyssa. His co-pilot was a brunette with a Terran appearance - even though she wasn't from Earth - and, like him, dressed in Ravager gear, only her jacket was a dark orange instead of red.

" _How_ do you always get into trouble on a job, Peter?" she asked, as she took off.

"You know me, I always get into trouble." he replied.

He took hold of his pilot controls and they flew to the side to dodge a beam of energy being fired at them by Korath's men. Peter and Alyssa both laughed as they escaped, before the ship was hit from beneath by a sudden blast of water, throwing them both around in their seats. As the ship fell back down Alyssa reached over to the controls and pulled a lever, engaging the engines and stopping her ship from crashing. She and Peter sat back in their seats and caught their breath.

"What the _hell_ happened?" she asked.

"No idea!" he replied.

* * *

 **Location: The _Milano_**

Alyssa set the coordinates for Xandar and the two of them relaxed, Peter's tape deck quietly playing music in the background. On the screen, a news report was playing about riots breaking out because of the peace treaty signed by the Kree Empire and Nova Prime.

"What is a Ninja Turtle?" she asked, curiously. Peter looked up at her from where he was examining the Orb.

"They're a group of four turtles from a Terran cartoon that I used to watch. They were hit with radioactive material and became super ninjas." he explained. "They fought criminals, evil overlords, mutated creatures and aliens."

"How did they not die from the radioactive material?"

"I don't know. It's a cartoon." he replied, shrugging. "You don't really think about it that much." He carefully turned the Orb around in his hands. "What do the Kree want with this thing, anyway?" Alyssa reached across the table and took it.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is it's dangerous." she said. "The sooner we get it off my ship, the better. You have a call."

"Yondu?" She nodded and he sighed. "Fine." They stood up and turned to the screen as Alyssa accepted the call. "Hey, Yondu."

" _Quill, Alyssa!_ " The Ravager captain greeted them. " _I'm here on Morag. Ain't no Orb, ain't no you!_ "

"Well, we were in the neighbourhood." said Peter. "Thought we'd save you the hassle."

" _Well, where you both at now?_ "

"I feel really bad about this, but I'm not gonna tell you that."

" _I slaved putting this deal together and now you're gonna rip me off! We do not do that to each other. We're Ravagers, we got a code!_ "

"Yeah, and that code is "steal from everybody"." said Peter.

" _When I picked you up on Terra..._ "

"Really?" asked Alyssa. "You call abducting an eight year old Terran from his home "picking him up"?"

" _...these boys of mine wanted to eat you._ "

"Yeah?" asked Peter.

"Hmm mmm?" asked Alyssa, both of them having heard this before.

" _They ain't never tasted any Terran before. I stopped 'em. You're alive because of me! I will find you, I will..._ "

"Oh, sorry, Yondu." Alyssa interrupted him. "You're breaking up."

" _Don't you hang up on me, girl!_ " Yondu exclaimed.

"Bye!" she exclaimed, hanging up on him then looked at Peter. "What? You know you were thinking the same thing." He nodded.

"You know he's gonna be pissed at me for keeping the Orb from him." said Peter.

"When is Yondu ever _not_ pissed at you, Peter?" she asked. "As soon as we get to Xandar, the sooner we can get rid of the Orb."


	2. Go All The Way

**Location:** **Xandar**

The _Milano_ landed on Xandar and Peter and Alyssa exited, the Orb safely in Peter's bag. They walked through the crowds, Alyssa keeping an eye out for any danger, and arrived at the Broker's shop.

"Mr Quill, Ms Alyssa." he greeted them.

"Broker." Alyssa greeted him back. "The Orb." Peter reached into his bag and set the Orb down on the counter.

"Where's Yondu?" asked the Broker.

"Wanted to be here, sends his love." said Peter. "And told me to tell you that you got the best eyebrows in the business. What is it?" he asked, as the Broker picked up the Orb.

"It's my policy never to discuss my clients or their needs." said the Broker.

"Well, Peter almost died getting it, as usual." Alyssa said.

"An occupational hazard, I'm sure, in your line of work." he replied. She nodded in agreement.

"Some machine-headed freak working for a dude named Ronan." said Peter.

"Ronan?" The Broker asked, afraid. Alyssa grabbed Peter's arm.

"I think we're done here, Broker." she said, sensing that there was some trouble here and wanting to get Peter out of there as quickly as possible.

"I think that would be wise, Ms Alyssa." The Broker agreed, pushing the Orb back into her hands and shooing them out. "I want no part of this transaction if Ronan is involved."

"Woah, woah!" exclaimed Peter. "Who's Ronan?"

"A Kree fanatic, outraged by the peace treaty, who will not rest until Xandarian culture, my culture, is wiped from existence!" The Broker continued to back them towards the door. "He's someone whose bad side I'd rather not be on."

"That sounds like a good idea." agreed Alyssa. "Come on, Peter! Let's go."

"Farewell, Mr Quill." The Broker said, pushing them out of the door.

"Hey!" Peter shouted, through the closed door. "We had a deal, bro!"

"Peter, just leave it." Alyssa advised him, standing in front of him and putting her hands on his shoulders.

They got the feeling that they were being watched and turned to see a tall, green woman dressed in leather leaning against the wall outside. Alyssa immediately pegged her as "dangerous" and her hand slowly moved towards her gun. Peter, on the other hand, didn't seem threatened at all.

"What happened?" The woman asked.

"This guy just backed out of a deal with us." said Peter. "If there's one thing I hate, it's a man without integrity. Peter Quill. People call me Star-Lord."

"You have the bearing of a man of honour." said the woman.

Alyssa rolled her eyes at the shameless flirting but kept her hand on her gun. Peter grabbed the Orb out of her other hand and started to playfully throw it up and down in his hand.

"Well, you know, I wouldn't say that." he said. "People say it about me, all the time, but it's not something I would ever say about myself."

The woman suddenly grabbed the Orb, kicked Peter in the stomach - Alyssa quickly caught hold of him - and ran off. As usual, the gunshot didn't bother her.

"See, _that_ is why you don't start flirting with a random woman!" Alyssa told him in annoyance. " _Especially_ if they're dressed all in leather! That's just asking for trouble!"

"Yeah, because that's what I really need to hear right now!" Peter exclaimed.

He reached into his bag and pulled out a magnetic rope which he threw at the woman's legs, tripping her up. He and Alyssa ran at the woman as the latter pulled the rope off her legs, but the woman managed to kick him off and start punching him. She then straddled Peter, holding a knife.

"This was never the plan." she said.

Alyssa kicked her off and grabbed the knife off her, throwing it to the ground and having a hand-to-hand combat fight with her. Something jumped up on her and the woman from behind and Alyssa saw that it was a small furry animal-like creature.

"Put him in the bag. Put him in the bag!" The animal exclaimed, to someone else behind her. Wooden vines wrapped around the woman. "No! Not her, him! Learn genders, man!" The creature was now fighting Alyssa as the woman was occupied with...a tree?

Alyssa threw the animal off her, Peter grabbed the Orb and they ran off. A piece of metal was thrown at Peter's hand, causing him to drop the Orb and it rolled off of the bridge. The woman jumped down from the bridge and grabbed the Orb, but Alyssa and Peter jumped down after her and knocked her down. However, the woman quickly overpowered them both, grabbing the Orb and knelt with a knee on each of their stomachs.

"You never learn." she said.

"He never does." said Alyssa.

She grabbed the Orb from the woman's hand as Peter attached a small rocket launcher to the woman and set it off, throwing her aside. The two of them ran off and hid behind a wall.

"Nova Corps are incoming." Alyssa told him. "We should get back to the _Milano_."

"No, you go." he said. "Someone has to keep an eye on her, and you're the only person I trust to do that."

"You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Probably gonna get arrested soon, though."

"Like always." she said. "At least give me the Orb for safekeeping." He did so. "Thank you. Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

"I'll try not to." Peter replied.

They grinned at each other and Alyssa ran off back to the _Milano_ , Peter covering her by continuing to fight with the woman, the animal and the tree and, sure enough, all four of them got arrested.

"By the authority of the Nova Corps, you are under arrest." she heard them say.

She got back to the _Milano_ and quickly hid, so as not to be found by the Nova Corps officers who picked the ship up. She knew they wouldn't find her.


	3. Hooked on a Feeling

**Location: The Kyln**

Peter was led through the halls of the Kyln with the three people - well, woman, raccoon and tree - who he had been arrested with, listening to the racoon, whose name was Rocket, explain how he had escaped from twenty two prisons and how this one wouldn't be any different.

"I've had a lot of folks try to kill me over the years." said Peter. "I ain't about to be brought down by a tree and a talking raccoon." He was aware of Alyssa inside his mind, listening.

"What's a raccoon?" asked Rocket.

"What's a raccoon? It's what you are, stupid." said Peter.

"Ain't no thing like me, except me." Rocket replied.

"So, this Orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe. What is it?"

"I am Groot." The tree said.

"So what?" Peter asked. "What's the Orb?"

"I have no words for an honourless thief." said the woman.

"Pretty high and mighty coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac." said Rocket.

 _See, Peter?_ Alyssa said. _I told you she was trouble!_

 _Yeah, not helping._ Peter replied. He whispered to Groot. "Who is she?"

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, you said that."

"I wasn't retrieving the Orb for Ronan." The woman said. "I was betraying him. I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."

"I am Groot."

"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first eighty nine times you told me that." said Peter. "What is wrong with Giving Tree here?"

 _Wow, three Terran references within the space of five minutes?_ asked Alyssa. _That has to be a record for you, Peter._ Peter gave a quiet chuckle in response.

 _Four Terran references._ he replied. _The shiny blue suitcase is from the 1955 crime film_ Kiss Me Deadly.

 _Ok. The others are from..._ Indiana Jones, The Maltese Falcon _and_ The Giving Tree, _right?_

 _Yep._

"Well, he don't know talking good like you and me." explained Rocket. "So his vocabulistics is limited to "I" and "am" and "Groot". Exclusively in that order."

"Well, I tell you what, that's gonna wear real thin, real fast. If I..." He trailed off as he saw one of the prison guards playing with his Walkman. "Hey! Put that away!" He moved into the same room as the guard as the latter put the headphones on his head. "You son of a... Hey! Listen to me, you big blue bastard. Take those headphones off. That's mine, those belong to impound. That tape and that player is mine!"

 _Peter, don't do anything that will get you into more trouble than you're already in._ Alyssa warned him, but she knew he wouldn't heed her advice. His Walkman was being messed with, and nobody messed with Peter Quill's Walkman.

The guard zapped Peter with a taser and Peter continued to speak.

"Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!" The guard continued to zap him with the taser as Rocket, Groot and the woman watched.

* * *

 **Location: The _Milano_**

In the Kyln's impound Alyssa lay on the floor of the _Milano_ , cursing under her breath as Peter was tased. Eventually it stopped and he was led into the Kyln.

They had one thing going for them, though. The Nova Corps didn't know that Alyssa, Peter's "co-pilot", was in fact the human avatar of the _Milano_. Co-pilot was just a way of explaining her presence, which was technically true...except she was more the pilot and Peter was the co-pilot.

She had met him when he was ten years old and first started flying her ship. Up until that point, she hadn't had a proper pilot. Yondu's Ravager clan would just use her ship briefly for jobs, until Yondu had given her to Peter.

The young Terran had been intrigued about the ship and she, in turn, had been intrigued about him. He had given her a name — the _Milano_ , after the Terran actress Alyssa Milano from whom her avatar also got her name.

She found that a feminine form made people more trustworthy, and for Peter, who was still grieving over the death of his mother Meredith Quill, it was a comfort.

Alyssa had adopted a maternal role towards Peter, which had become a big sister role as he grew up. She liked that he was respectful of her ship, despite his womanising phase which she just accepted and ignored, fixing her up whenever she got damaged. She certainly did a better job of raising him than Yondu.

In their line of work Peter often got arrested, so this wasn't new to her. She just lay down on his bunk, examining the Orb and talking to him via their psychic connection. She learnt about the other three who he had been arrested with - the woman was Gamora, the animal was a raccoon called Rocket and the tree was Groot.

* * *

 **Location: The Kyln**

Alyssa was unknowingly mimicking Peter's own posture, lying down on the floor of the prison surrounded by sleeping inmates. He looked up as he saw a group of them drag Gamora past to kill her.

 _Peter? What is it?_ Alyssa asked.

 _They're going to kill Gamora._ Peter replied. _I need to help her._

 _But why? She tried to kill you._

 _I know, but I can't let her get killed in here._

 _Are all Terrans this caring about people they've just met or is it just you?_

 _I don't know._ Peter got up and went to follow them.

"Quill, what are you doing?" he heard Rocket ask and the raccoon followed him as he followed the inmates. "Quill!"

"Gamora, consider this a death sentence for your crimes against the galaxy." said the inmate whose name Peter knew was Moloka Dar.

"You dare!" he and Rocket heard a booming voice say, and he looked to see a large, bald, muscular man covered in tattoos walking towards the group. "You know who I am, yes?"

"You're Drax the Destroyer." said Dar.

"And you know why they call me this?"

"You slayed dozens of Ronan's minions."

"Ronan murdered my wife, Hovat, and my daughter, Kamaria. He slaughtered them where they stood. And he laughed!"

"Quill?" Rocket whispered to him as they watched.

"Her life is not yours to take." Drax continued. "He killed my family, I shall kill one of his in return."

"Of course, Drax." said Dar. "Here, I..."

He held out his knife but Gamora kicked out and grabbed the other two inmates' knives, holding them against Drax and Dar. Peter moved slowly forwards, secretly turned on by Gamora.

 _Peter, stop thinking with your penis!_ Alyssa told him.

"I'm no family to Ronan or Thanos." said Gamora. "I'm your only hope at stopping him." Drax grabbed her round the throat and held her up against the wall.

"Woman, your words mean nothing to me!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Peter exclaimed. Drax and Gamora looked at him. "You know, if killing Ronan is truly your soul purpose, I don't think this is the best way to go about it."

"Are you not the man this wench attempted to kill?" asked Drax.

"Well, I mean she's hardly the first woman who's tried to do that to me." replied Peter. He pulled up his shirt to show Drax a scar on his side. "Look, this is from a smoking hot Rajak girl. Stabbed me with a fork. Didn't like me skipping out on her at sunrise." He showed Drax another scar near his throat. "I got, right here, a Kree girl tried to rip out my thorax. She caught me with this skinny little A'askavariian who worked in Nova Records. I was trying to get information. You ever see an A'askavariian? They have tentacles and needles for teeth. If you think I'm seriously interested in that, then..." Drax gave him a cold look.

 _Seriously, Peter?_ Alyssa sighed. He could almost feel her facepalming.

"But here's the point." Peter continued. He pointed towards Gamora. "She betrayed Ronan, he's coming back for her. And when he does, that's when you..." Peter drew his finger across his throat to indicate slitting Ronan's throat.

"Why would I put my finger on his throat?" asked Drax.

"What? Oh, this is a symbol." said Peter. "This is a symbol for you slicing his throat."

"I would not slice his throat, I would cut his head clean off." said Drax.

"It's a general expression for you killing somebody." Peter explained. He turned to Moloka Dar. "You've heard of this. You've seen this, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Dar replied, nodding.

"Everyone knows."

"No, no." said Dar.

"What I'm saying is, you want to keep her alive." said Peter. "Don't do his work for him."

Drax looked at Gamora, then let her go. He looked at the knife in his hand.

"I like your knife. I'm keeping it." said Drax, then walked off.

* * *

"Listen, I could care less whether you live or you die." Peter said to Gamora, as they and Rocket walked back to the sleeping quarters.

 _That means you do care at least a little._ Alyssa commented.

 _I really don't need you to correct my grammar right now!_ Peter replied.

"Then why stop the big guy?" asked Gamora, turning to him.

"Simple. You know where to sell my Orb." he replied.

"How are we going to sell it when we and it are still here?" she asked.

"My friend, Rocket, here has escaped twenty two prisons." he said.

"Oh, we're getting out." said Rocket. "And then we're headed straight to Yondu to retrieve your bounty."

"How much was your buyer willing to pay you for my Orb?" asked Peter.

"Four billion units." said Gamora.

"What?!" asked Rocket.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Peter. What could be worth that much?

"That Orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan. If you free us, I'll lead you to the buyer directly and I'll split the profit between the three of us."

"I am Groot."

"Four of us." said Rocket. "Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per frickin' usual."

"Five of us." said Peter. "My partner, Alyssa, will help us get out of here."

"Is that who was with you on Xandar?" asked Gamora. He nodded. "Where is she? I didn't see her being brought in."

"Nah, Alyssa's good at not getting caught." said Peter. "But trust me, she's close by."


	4. Escape (The Piña Colada Song)

**Location: The Kyln**

"If we're gonna get out of here, we're gonna need to get into that watchtower." said Rocket. "And to do that, I'm gonna need a few things. The guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs. I need one."

"Leave it to me." said Gamora.

"That dude, there." said Rocket, gesturing to a passing inmate. "I need his prosthetic leg."

"His leg?" asked Peter.

"Yeah. God knows I don't need the rest of him. Look at him, he's useless."

"Alright."

"And finally, on the wall back there is a black panel. Blinky yellow light. You see it?" Peter turned to look at it.

"Yeah." said Peter, then turned back to Rocket.

"There's a quarnyx battery behind it." said Rocket. "Purplish box, green wires. To get into that watchtower, I definitely need it."

"Quill, what about your friend?" asked Gamora. "You said that she would be able to help us."

 _I'll take care of the guards._ Alyssa told him.

"She'll take care of the guards." Peter repeated. "Thanks, Alyssa."

 _No problem._

"How are you communicating with each other?" asked Gamora. "You don't have any devices on you." Peter shrugged.

"Alyssa and I have...ways of communicating with each other." he said, then he turned back to Rocket. "Look, the quarnyx battery is twenty feet up in the air and it's in the middle of the most heavily guarded part of the prison." he said. "It's impossible to get up there without being seen."

"I got one plan, and that plan requires a frickin' quarnyx battery, so figure it out! Can I get back to it? Thanks." said Rocket. None of them noticed Groot making his way towards the watchtower. "Now, this is important. Once the battery is removed, everything is gonna slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly, so you definitely need to get that last." The alarms went off and they looked round to see Groot holding out the battery, a smile on his face. "Or we could just get it first and improvise."

"I'll get the armband." said Gamora.

"Leg." said Peter.

 _Guards._ said Alyssa.

* * *

Peter, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket dealt with the guards as they gathered the armband and the leg - which Rocket only wanted as a joke - and escaped in the watchtower. They ran from the watchtower pod towards impound but were intercepted by another group of guards.

"Oh, come on!" Peter muttered.

"Drop the weapons!" The head guard exclaimed.

"No." A female voice said from behind them. "You drop _your_ weapons!"

Everyone turned to see a woman standing behind the guards. She was brunette with a Terran appearance and dressed in Ravager gear, but with a dark orange jacket instead of Peter's red. Gamora recognised her from Xandar and correctly assumed that this was Quill's partner, Alyssa. Alyssa knocked the four guards unconscious by firing blasts of electrical energy from her hands and walked over to Peter.

"Hey, Alyssa." he said.

"Hello, Peter." she replied. He saw her study Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket with curiosity, head tilted to the side. "You must be Gamora, Groot, Rocket and Drax the Destroyer. My name is Alyssa. I am Peter's co-pilot, partner in crime, whichever one you want to use." She turned back to her pilot. "Why am I not surprised that you managed to join forces with the three people who previously wanted to kill or capture you?"

"Gamora wants to use the Orb to betray Ronan, Drax wants to kill Ronan and Groot and Rocket want to collect my bounty from Yondu." Peter explained.

"Yondu put a bounty on you?"

"Forty thousand units."

" _What_? Oh, that son of a bitch! He must really want that Orb!"

"Where _is_ the Orb, anyway?" asked Rocket.

"It's safe." said Peter. He might be temporarily working with the four criminals but that didn't mean he trusted them to keep hold of the Orb.

The group gathered their belongings from the impound. Peter searched for and pointed out the _Milano_ to the others then went to grab his stuff. Alyssa, after exchanging a look with him, quickly slipped the Orb into his bag to make Gamora think that it had been there the whole time. Sure enough, the assassin noticed it and suggested that they go.

"Wait, wait, wait." said Peter, continuing to rummage through his bag.

"What is it?" asked Alyssa. He swiftly passed the Orb back to her and she pocketed it.

"My Walkman. The guard didn't put it back."

"Peter, get the others to the _Milano_." said Alyssa, handing the bag to Gamora and intervening before Peter could do anything reckless. "I'll get the Walkman."

"Ok." Peter replied, nodding.

"How are you gonna possibly...?" asked Gamora.

"Just keep the _Milano_ close by!" Alyssa said. "Go!" Peter led the group to the _Milano_ while Alyssa ran off in the other direction.

* * *

Alyssa shifted her appearance so that she was dressed in the same uniform as the Kyln guards and headed along the corridor. She attacked the guards one by one, throwing blasts of electrical energy at them.

One of them pointed his gun at her and she grabbed it, pulling it out of his hands and whacking him around the head with it. She shot him once with the gun then dropped it, having no need for the weapon.

Seeing that she was unarmed, the other guards fired at her. Alyssa smirked as the shots simply phased through her body, then she ran towards them and attacked.

She jumped up and kicked the first guard in the face, landing on the ground and quickly straightening up and punching him across the room. The other two guards came at her from either side and she teleported away, reappearing between them and their unconscious co-worker

They turned around in surprise in time for her to drop down to the floor and let out a wave of electrical energy, electrocuting them and knocking them unconscious.

Alyssa made her way to the guard room and found the guard from earlier who had taken Peter's Walkman. She punched him in the face and grabbed the Walkman and headphones, putting them on and listening to the music as she went. Shifting her appearance back to her Ravager gear, she felt Peter reach out to her.

 _Alyssa?_ Peter asked. _We're at the_ Milano _. Where are you?_

 _I'm on my way. I have the Walkman._ she replied. He sighed in relief. _You go. I'll catch up._

 _Ok._

* * *

 **Location: The _Milano_**

"Well, how's she gonna get to us?" asked Rocket, as he, Peter, Gamora, Drax and Groot sat in the _Milano_ just outside the Kyln.

"Trust me, Alyssa will get here." said Peter.

"Well, screw this, then! I ain't waiting around for some humie with a death wish." said Rocket.

"She's not Terran." said Peter.

"You got the Orb, right?" Rocket asked Gamora.

"Yes." said Gamora. She looked in the bag on her lap and found that the Orb was gone. Peter felt her glare at him and he sighed, preparing for a fight, then perked up as music started to play in the ship. They looked to the side to see Alyssa, without a spacesuit, flying through space to get to them.

 _If you like piña coladas, and getting caught in the rain_

 _If you're not into yoga, if you have half a brain_

 _If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape_

 _I'm the love that you've looked for, write to me and escape_

Alyssa phased through the side of the ship and handed the Walkman and headphones to Peter.

"Hey, Alyssa." he said, grinning. "Yes! My Walkman!" Alyssa smiled back, relieved that he hadn't gotten himself into or caused more trouble because of the Walkman.

"What were you retrieving?" asked Drax. Peter held up the Walkman. "You're an imbecile."

"How were you able to survive in space without a suit?" asked Gamora. Alyssa turned to Peter.

"You haven't told them?" she asked him.

"I thought it would be better if you told them." he replied. She nodded and turned back to Gamora.

"I am the artificial intelligence and human avatar of the _Milano_." Alyssa replied. Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket stared at her in surprise.

"Yeah, my ship is sentient." Peter said, casually. "While we're on the _Milano_ , Alyssa's the boss. Actually, even we're not on the _Milano_ she's the boss."

" _Someone_ has to keep you out of trouble and Yondu sure as hell isn't doing that." Alyssa replied, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, putting a bounty on my head for forty thousand units isn't doing him any favours." said Peter. "We need to get the Orb to Gamora's buyer, then we can deal with Ronan."


	5. Moonage Daydream

**Location: The** ** _Milano_**

Having Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot on the _Milano_ turned out to be just as big a hassle as having Peter around, Alyssa noticed.

Specifically, Rocket taking apart the ship and building...something.

"Rocket! What are you doing?" asked Alyssa. "You can't take apart my ship without asking! What is this, anyway?"

"Don't touch that, it's a bomb." Rocket said, casually.

"A _bomb_?" Alyssa and Peter asked in unison.

"And you leave it lying around?" asked Peter.

"I was gonna put it in a box." said Rocket, as if that made a difference.

"What's a box gonna do?" asked Peter.

Rocket pulled out a box which just happened to contain the still wrapped present that Peter had received from his mother shortly before she died. The raccoon took the gift out.

"How about this one?" he asked, not knowing the importance of it.

"No! Woah! Hey, hey! Leave it alone!" Peter exclaimed, putting the present carefully back in the box and pushing it shut with his foot.

"Why? What is it?" asked Rocket.

"None of your business!" said Alyssa. She pointed to something else. "What is that?"

"That's for if things get really hardcore, or if you want to blow up moons." said Rocket.

" _Why_ would you want to blow up moons?" Alyssa asked.

"No one's blowing up moons." said Gamora.

"You just wanna suck the joy out of everything." Peter and Alyssa rolled their eyes and went over to Gamora.

"I'm going to need your buyer's coordinates." said Alyssa.

"We're heading in the right direction for now." said Gamora, picking up the Orb.

"If we're gonna work together, you might want to try trusting me a little bit." said Peter.

"And how much do you trust me?" asked Gamora, as he took the Orb out of her hand.

"He doesn't trust you." Alyssa said, bluntly. "You don't trust him. Neither of you trust Drax, Rocket or Groot either, and they don't trust you." Peter and Gamora looked at her. "What?"

"You're not supposed to tell her that." Peter told her.

"Why not?" she asked, confused. "It's true."

"It is true, but it's an unspoken thing that you don't outright say that no one trusts each other." Peter explained. "You don't have any bias like we do, so you'd see things differently. You trust Rocket enough to leave him alone even though he just made a bomb out of parts of your ship."

"That is true." Alyssa agreed, nodding. "I suppose because you all want to get rid of the Orb or defeat Ronan, you are putting up with each other until that is completed, correct?"

"Correct." said Peter, nodding. "Anyway, what is this?" He held up the Orb. "I'm guessing it's some kind of weapon."

"I don't know what it is." replied Gamora, as Peter put it down on the table. Drax picked it up.

"If it's a weapon, we should use it against Ronan." he said.

"Put it down, you fool!" exclaimed Gamora. "You'll destroy us all!"

"Whatever it is, it feels like a weapon." said Alyssa. "The sooner we get this off my ship, the better. Woah, woah!" Sensing an ensuing fight between Gamora and Drax, she quickly got in between them. "Nobody is killing anybody on my ship! We're stuck together until we get rid of the Orb!"

"And get our money." Rocket added.

"And get the money." Alyssa said, nodding.

"I have no interest in money." said Drax, throwing the Orb to Peter and walking away.

"Great." said Peter. "That means more money for the five of us. Partners."

"We have an agreement, but I would never be partners with the likes of you." said Gamora. "I'll tell the buyer we're on our way." She turned to Alyssa. "And, no offense, but your ship is filthy."

"No offense taken, Gamora." said Alyssa. Gamora walked up to the cockpit and Alyssa noticed Peter checking her out as she did so.

"Oh, she has no idea." said Peter. "If I had a blacklight, this place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting." This earned him a playful slap round the head by Alyssa.

"You got issues, Quill." said Rocket.

* * *

 **Location: Knowhere**

"Heads up! We're inbound!" said Rocket. The six of them stood in the cockpit looking at the giant severed head floating in space.

"Woah!" exclaimed Peter.

"What is it?" asked Drax.

"It's called Knowhere." Gamora explained. "The severed head of an ancient Celestial being. Be wary headed in, rodent. There are no reservations whatsoever here." The _Milano_ flew over the city and found a - relatively safe - place to land and the group walked out as Gamora continued to explain. "Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull. The bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid. All rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. It's dangerous and illegal work, suitable only for outlaws." By this point, they were walking through the streets of Knowhere.

"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws." said Peter. "Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos."

"It sounds like a place which I would like to visit." said Drax.

"Yeah, you should." said Peter. A group of children surrounded them. "Watch your wallets."

"Can you spare any units?" asked one of the children.

"Get out of here." said Rocket. They headed towards a bar. "Your buyer's in there?"

"We are to wait here for his representative." said Gamora.

Drax, Rocket, Groot and Alyssa stayed in the bar whilst Peter and Gamora stood outside, the former presumably trying to flirt with the latter. Alyssa and Gamora both agreed that someone had to keep Drax, Rocket and Groot out of trouble.

Drax, Rocket and Groot got drunk and started gambling; Alyssa also drunk, but it didn't affect her the way it did the others.

"Yes! Yes!" Drax exclaimed, excitedly. "My Orloni has won, as I win at all things! Now, let's put more of this liquid in our bodies."

"That's the first thing you said that wasn't batshit crazy!" exclaimed Rocket.

Groot and Alyssa exchanged glances. Drax and Rocket continued to drink and she started to recognise the signs of an ensuing brawl.

"I am Groot!"

"I know." she agreed, then they both looked round as Drax and Rocket started to insult each other and got into a fight. "Oh, _come on_!" She put herself in between them and held them apart. "Drax! Rocket! Stop!"

"Stop it!" Gamora exclaimed, she and Peter running back in. She held back Drax whilst Peter stood next to Alyssa holding back Rocket.

"Woah, woah!" exclaimed Peter. "What are you doing?"

"This vermin speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!" exclaimed Drax.

"That is true!" exclaimed Rocket.

"He has no respect!"

"That is also true!"

"Hold on, hold on!" Peter exclaimed.

"Keep calling me vermin, tough guy!" exclaimed Rocket. "You just wanna laugh at me like everyone else!"

"No one is laughing at you, Rocket!" said Alyssa.

"He thinks I'm some stupid thing! He does! Well, I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart, and put back together, over and over and turned into some...some little monster!"

"Rocket, no one's calling you a monster!" said Peter.

"He called me vermin!" Rocket exclaimed, gesturing to Drax. "She called me rodent!" He gestured to Gamora. "Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots to your frickin' face!" Rocket pointed his gun at Drax and Peter quickly stepped in front of him.

"No, no! Four billion units! Rocket!" Peter exclaimed. Alyssa wasn't sure it was a good idea for Peter to blurt out how much money they were going to come into in the middle of a bar full of outlaws. "Come on, man! Hey! Suck it up for one more lousy night and you're rich!" Rocket lowered his weapon.

"Fine." Rocket said. "But I can't promise when all this is over I'm not gonna kill every last one of you jerks."

"That's why none of you have any friends!" said Alyssa. "Five minutes after you meet someone, you're already trying to kill them!"

"We have travelled halfway across the quadrant and Ronan is no closer to being dead." said Drax. He turned and left in anger.

"Drax." said Peter.

"Let him go." said Gamora. "We don't need him." The door to the bar opened and a bright pink-skinned woman walked in.

"Milady Gamora, I'm here to fetch you for my master." she said.

* * *

 **Location: The Collector's Museum**

"Ok, this isn't creepy at all." Rocket muttered.

"We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics and species of all manner." The woman explained as she led them into the building. "I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector." The group saw a very flamboyantly dressed man.

"He reminds me of Liberace." Peter muttered to Alyssa.

"Who?" she asked.

"He was a Terran singer and actor who died the year before I was abducted. He was just as flamboyant as this guy." he explained. Alyssa nodded in interest.

"Oh, my dear Gamora." The Collector said. "How wonderful to meet in the flesh."

"Let's bypass the formalities, Tivan." said Gamora. "We have what we discussed."

"What is that thing?" The Collector asked, noticing Groot.

"Oh God." Peter muttered. He and Alyssa exchanged glances and watched as the Collector expressed interest in purchasing Groot's corpse after his death and called Rocket Groot's "pet". Gamora quickly intervened before Rocket could shoot anyone.

"Tivan, we have been halfway around the galaxy, retrieving this Orb." Gamora said.

"Very well, then. Let us see what you have brought." said the Collector. Gamora looked at Peter, who took the Orb out of his bag and dropped it but quickly caught it and showed it to the Collector.

"Oh, my new friends." said the Collector, taking the Orb from Peter. "Before creation itself, there were six singularities." He used a device to unlock and open the Orb. "Then the universe exploded into existence and the remnants of these systems were formed into concentrated ingots. Infinity Stones." He showed them a diagram of the six Stones - blue, yellow, red, purple, green and orange - as he spoke. "These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe." He showed them the giant beings who wielded the purple stone in the Orb. "These carriers can use the stone to mow down entire civilisations like wheat in a field. Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it." The Orb was opened and revealed a small purple stone. "Beautiful. Beyond compare."

"Blah, blah, blah." said Rocket. "We're all very fascinated, whitey. But we'd like to get paid."

"How would you like to get paid?"

"What do you think, fancy man? Units."

The Collector walked off to get the money and his assistant, Carina, moved towards the Infinity Stone in the Orb. The Collector warned her to get away but she grabbed the Stone, causing an explosion which destroyed her as well as the Collector's building. Groot grabbed Rocket and ran out of the place whilst Peter, Gamora and Alyssa dived behind a table, the three of them looking over the top of it when the explosion stopped.

"What the f..." said Peter. As they headed out, Gamora locked the Stone back in the Orb for safety.

* * *

 **Location: Knowhere**

"What do you still have it for?" asked Rocket.

"Well, what are gonna do? Leave it in there?" asked Peter.

"I can't believe you had that in your purse!"

"It's not a purse, it's a knapsack!"

"We have to bring this to the Nova Corps." said Gamora. "There's a chance they can contain it."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Rocket. "We're wanted by the Nova Corps! Just give it to Ronan!"

" _Why_ would you give something this powerful to someone who wants to destroy Xandar?" asked Alyssa. "I agree with Gamora. We should give it to the Nova Corps."

"We cannot allow the stone to fall into Ronan's hands." said Gamora. "We have to get back to the _Milano_ and deliver it to Nova."

"Right, right, ok. I think you're right." said Peter. "Or we could give it to somebody who's not going to arrest us, who's really nice for a whole lot of money." Alyssa and Gamora both looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Seriously?" asked Alyssa. "What is _wrong_ with you, Peter? Did you not see the _giant explosion_ that it caused just now?"

"I'm just saying. We could give it to somebody who _doesn't_ want to kill us!"

"What if that somebody wanted to use the stone to destroy, oh, I don't know, Terra?" she asked. He looked at her.

"That's not fair." he said.

"I'm sorry, but you don't seem to be noticing the severity of this object." she said.

"You're right." said Peter, sighing. "I still think it's a bad idea giving the stone to someone who wants to kill us."

"Which is why we're not giving it to Ronan." Alyssa said.

"Oh no." said Gamora. Peter, Alyssa, Rocket and Groot followed her gaze and saw Ronan's fleet of ships in front of them.

"You called Ronan?" Peter asked a clearly drunk Drax.

"Quill!" He and Alyssa turned to see Yondu in front of them. "Don't you move, boy!" Peter, Alyssa, Gamora, Rocket and Groot made a run for it, leaving Drax to face Ronan. "Don't you move!" Yondu chased after them.

The five of them came across some mining pods and Peter, Gamora and Rocket got into three of them, Groot stayed on the ground as he couldn't fit and Alyssa didn't bother with a pod, instead using her own flight and connecting to the three pods via her technopathy. Gamora's sister, Nebula, followed them in another pod along with more of Ronan's men.

" _Alyssa, Rocket, keep them off Gamora until she gets to the_ Milano." said Peter.

" _How?_ " asked Rocket. " _We've got no weaponry on these things._ "

" _These pods are industrial grade, they're nearly indestructible._ "

" _Not against necroblasts, they're not._ "

" _That's not what I'm saying._ "

" _...Oh!_ "

Rocket took his pod over to the two ships chasing them and crashed into each one, destroying them both, then as another one flew over he crashed straight through it causing it to explode.

Peter hijacked one of the ships chasing them and piloted it amongst the other ships. He skillfully dodged the fire from the other ships and carried on flying back to the _Milano_.

Alyssa was flying around firing her electrical energy blasts at the ships to destroy them. The returning enemy fire either phased straight through her or was absorbed into her body; if the latter happened, then she fired it right back.

Soon, it was just Nebula's pod chasing Gamora.

" _Quill, I'm trapped! I can't make it to the_ Milano, _I have to head out._ " said Gamora.

" _What? Wait!_ " Peter replied. " _These things aren't meant to go out there_."

Gamora took her pod above the atmosphere with Nebula chasing her. Nebula blew up Gamora's pod, leaving Gamora floating in space. Nebula took the Orb and left whilst Peter, Rocket and Alyssa watched.

" _Quill, Alyssa, come on._ " said Rocket. " _Her body mods should keep her alive a couple more minutes, but there's nothing we can do for her. These pods aren't meant to be out here. In a second, we're gonna be in the same boat._ "

Rocket turned his pod and started to leave. Peter continued to stare at Gamora while Alyssa stared at Peter, flying up to the window of his pod.

"Peter?" Alyssa asked. "What are you thinking?" He turned to her.

" _I can't leave her here_ _, Alyssa._ " said Peter. He thought for a moment, then sighed. " _Aw, damn it!_ "

" _Quill?_ " asked Rocket. Peter placed a call.

" _Yondu! Yondu! This is Quill! My coordinates are 2-2-7-K-3-2-4._ "

" _Quill, what are you doing?_ "

" _Just outside Knowhere._ " Peter continued. " _If you're there, come get me. I'm all yours._ " He put on his mask and exited the pod, pausing briefly to look at Alyssa. " _I'm sorry._ "

"Don't be." she replied. "You do what you need to do, and Yondu will bail you out as always." She smiled and, under the helmet, he smiled back.

" _Quill, don't be ridiculous._ " said Rocket. " _Get back into your pod! You can't fit two people in there, you're gonna die._ "

"Peter knows what he's doing, Rocket." Alyssa told him, flying over to his pod.

Despite that, though, she looked back over to where Peter had taken hold of Gamora and removed his helmet, putting it on her instead. A few minutes later, Yondu's Ravager fleet appeared and took in Peter and Gamora.


	6. Cherry Bomb

Alyssa and Rocket landed in front of Groot and Drax, the latter of whom was drying himself off of yellow liquid. She didn't want to know what kind of trouble Drax had gotten himself into.

"They're all idiots!" Rocket exclaimed. "Quill just got himself captured! None of this ever would have happened if you didn't try to single-handedly take on a freaking army!"

"Peter knows what he's doing." said Alyssa. "Yes, he and Gamora got captured by Yondu. Yondu raised him. Trust me, it's not the first time this has happened. Unfortunately, Ronan has the Stone so we need to find Peter and Gamora as quickly as possible."

"How are we going to find them?" asked Rocket.

"I am Groot."

"I know they're the only friends we ever had, but there's an army of Ravagers around them and there's only three of us!"

"Four." said Drax, standing up next to Groot.

"Besides, I think you're forgetting that I am a Ravager M-ship." said Alyssa. "The Eclector is my mother ship and Peter is my pilot. I know how to track them down." Rocket grunted in anger and started to kick up the ground with his foot.

"You're making...me...beat...up...grass!" he exclaimed.

"Come on, then." she said. "Let's go and find them."

* * *

 **Location: The _Eclector_**

Peter was well-used to Yondu's beatings. He'd dealt with them ever since he had been abducted from Earth as a child and had gotten used to them over the years.

"You betrayed me!" said Yondu. "Steal my money!"

"Stop it!" exclaimed Gamora. "Leave him alone!"

"When I picked you up as a kid, these boys wanted to eat you!" said Yondu. "They ain't never tasted Terran before. I saved your life."

"Oh, will you shut up about that? God!" Peter replied. "Twenty years, you've been throwing that in my face, like it's some great thing, not eating me! Normal people don't even think about eating someone else! Much less that person having to be grateful for it! You abducted me, man. You stole me from my home and from my family."

"You don't give a damn about your Terra!" Yondu replied. "You're scared because you're soft, in here!" He beat his hands on his chest. "Here! Right here!" He hit his hands on Peter's chest.

"Yondu!" Gamora exclaimed. "Listen to me! Ronan has something called an Infinity Stone."

"I know what he's got, girl." said Yondu.

"Then you know we must get it back! He's gonna use it to wipe out Xandar. We have to warn them. Billions of people will perish."

"Is that what she's been filling your head with, boy?" asked Yondu. "Sentiment?" He slapped Peter and the Ravagers laughed. "Eating away your brain like maggots! That's it." He turned away from Peter and whistled, his arrow flying up and pressing against Peter's throat.

"No!" Gamora exclaimed.

"Sorry, boy. But a captain's gotta teach his men what happens to those what cross him."

"Captain's gotta teach stuff." said Kraglin. The crew grunted in agreement.

"If you kill me now, you are saying goodbye to the biggest score you have ever seen." said Peter, knowing that that would get Yondu's attention. Sure enough, the Ravager captain turned round with a smile on his face.

"The Stone?" asked Yondu. "I hope you got something better than that. Because ain't nobody stealing from Ronan."

"We got a ringer."

"Is that right?" Peter's eyes gestured towards Gamora.

"She knows everything there is to know about Ronan." he said. "His ships, his army."

"He's vulnerable." said Gamora.

"Hey, what do you say, Yondu, huh?" asked Peter. "Me and you, taking down a mark side-by-side, like the old days."

Yondu hesitated as he thought for a moment, then he whistled and the arrow moved from Peter's throat. He burst into laughter, joined by his crew and Peter.

"Let 'em go! Oh! You always did have a scrote, boy! That's why I kept you on as a young'un." said Yondu. The _Eclector_ shook as it was hit by something. They ran to the cockpit to see what was wrong.

"Captain, the shot was non-damaging." said the pilot.

" _Before Rocket and Drax blow up the_ Eclector _, do not fire!_ " Alyssa's disembodied voice echoed through the cockpit. Peter, Yondu, Kraglin and the Ravagers were used to this but Gamora wasn't, the assassin looking around her in surprise.

"Hey, Alyssa." Peter said.

" _Hello, Peter. Thank goodness you and Yondu sorted out your issues. That punching was giving me a headache...literally!_ " Peter and Yondu laughed.

"You know what Quill's like, lassie." said Yondu.

" _Yes, I know exactly what he's like_." she agreed. _"Drax, get back in here! No, Rocket, you can't blow up the_ Eclector _!_ "

" _Then how're we supposed to get Quill and Gamora back?_ " asked Rocket. Peter assumed that Alyssa had patched the _Milano_ 's comms into the _Eclector'_ s whilst she was talking through the actual ship.

" _What do you think I'm doing?_ " Alyssa asked. " _God, you're just as irritating as Peter!_ " Peter quickly turned on the comms.

" _Rocket, it's me, for Gods' sakes! We figured it out! We're fine!_ " he exclaimed.

" _Oh, hey, Quill_." said Rocket. " _What's going on?_ "

* * *

 **Location: The _Milano_**

"I really hope you have a plan, Peter." said Alyssa. The six of them were back on the _Milano_ — Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket sitting in a circle and Peter and Alyssa casually leaning against the wall.

"We're going to stop Ronan from using the Stone to destroy Xandar and... _maybe_ give the Stone to Yondu afterwards." Peter explained. He exchanged a glance with Alyssa which said that he was definitely _not_ going to give the Stone to Yondu.

"You call that "figured it out"?" asked Rocket. "We're gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless."

"Oh, you want to talk about senseless?" asked Peter. "How about trying to save us by blowing us up? Luckily, Alyssa stopped you or you really would have been screwed!"

"What's important now is we get the Ravagers' army to help us save Xandar." said Gamora, cutting off any potential argument.

"So we can give the Stone to Yondu who's just gonna sell it to somebody even worse?" asked Rocket.

"We'll figure that part out later." said Peter. "I have a plan."

"You've got a plan?" asked Rocket.

"Yes."

"First of all, you're copying me from when I said I had a plan."

"No, I'm not. People say that all the time, it's not that unique of a thing to say."

"Secondly, I don't even believe you have a plan."

"I have part of a plan."

"What percentage?" asked Alyssa.

"I don't know, twelve percent?" asked Peter.

" _Twelve percent_?" Alyssa and Rocket asked. Rocket burst into laughter.

"That's a fake laugh." said Peter.

"It's real!" said Rocket.

"Totally fake."

"That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh in my entire life because that is not a plan." said Rocket.

"That's hardly a plan, Peter." said Alyssa.

"That's barely even a concept." agreed Gamora.

"You're taking their side?" Peter asked them.

"I am Groot."

"So what it's better than eleven percent?" asked Rocket. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Thank you, Groot. Thank you." said Peter. "See? Groot's the only one who has a clue." Groot started to chew on a leaf on his shoulder and Peter shook his head while Rocket chuckled.

"Everyone, come on." said Alyssa. "Yondu is going to be here shortly. He expects to hear a plan from us."

"Right." Peter agreed. "We need your help. I look around at us, you know what I see? Losers. I mean, like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have. Man, we have. All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And, usually, life takes more than it gives, but not today. Today, it's given us something. It has given us a chance."

"To do what?" asked Drax.

"To give a shit." said Peter. Drax looked at him, confused. "Not literally give a shit. For once, not run away. I, for one, am not gonna stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."

"But, Quill, stopping Ronan, it's impossible." said Rocket. "You're asking us to die."

"Yeah, I guess I am." said Peter. "I..." He turned away from the group.

"Peter." said Alyssa. "You've been my pilot for twenty-four years. You know I would help you out with anything. Besides, saving a planet is makes a change from committing crime."

"Quill." said Gamora. "I have lived most my life surrounded by my enemies." She stood up. "I will be grateful to die among my friends." Drax got to his feet.

"You are an honorable man, Quill." he said. "I will fight beside you. And in the end, see my wife and daughter again." Groot got to his feet.

"I am Groot." he said. They all looked at Rocket, who sighed.

"Oh, what the hell. I don't got that long a lifespan, anyway." he said, getting to his feet. "Now I'm standing. You all happy? We're all standing up now. Bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle."

* * *

 **Location: The _Eclector_**

"The Stone reacts to anything organic." said Gamora. "The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge."

"All Ronan's gotta do is touch the Stone to the planet's surface and zap." said Peter. "All plants, animals, Nova Corps."

"Everything will die." said Alyssa. "So Ronan does not make the surface. Rocket will lead a team to blow a hole in the Dark Aster's starboard hull. Then our craft and Yondu's will enter."

"Won't there be hundreds of Sakaaran soldiers inside?" asked Kraglin.

"I think of Sakaaran as paper people." said Drax. Kraglin smiled and gave him a playful punch on the arm, then regretted it as Drax looked as if he was going to hit him.

"Once they know we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on deck." said Gamora. "Which I can disable by dismantling the power source."

"We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use the Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan." said Peter.

"Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the Stone. Use these devices to contain it." said Gamora. The devices were passed out. "If you touch it, it will kill you."

"I'll contact one of the Nova officers who arrested us." said Peter. "Hopefully, they'll believe we're there to help."

"There's one more thing we need to complete the plan." said Rocket. He pointed to one of the Ravagers. "That guy's eye..."

"No! No, we don't!" Alyssa quickly exclaimed. "No, we don't need that guy's eye."

"No, seriously, I need it! It's important to me." said Rocket.

"Ronan's fleet has been spotted, and will arrive in t-minus fifteen minutes." said a Ravager navigator.

"Remember, you two." Yondu said to Peter and Alyssa. "At the end of all this, I get the stone. You cross me, we kill you all." He then turned to the rest of the Ravagers. "Let's go get 'em, boys!"


	7. O-O-H Child

**Location: Xandar**

The _Milano_ , Yondu's ship, Rocket's ship and the Ravager fleet approached the Dark Aster. Yondu gave the order to fire and they did so. The explosion bounced off the ship and revealed a forcefield. The ships flew underneath the fire and went beneath the Dark Aster. They managed to blow a hole in the side of the Dark Aster, but before they could fly through the hole Yondu's ship was hit.

" _Aw, hell! I'm going down, Quill!_ " said Yondu. " _No more games with me, boy! I'll see you at the end of this!_ "

"There are too many of them, Rocket!" said Gamora, referring to Ronan's ships firing at them. "We'll never make it up there!"

" _Peter Quill, this is Denarian Saal of the Nova Corps._ " A voice came through the radio. " _For the record, I advised against trusting you here._ "

"They got my "dick" message!" Peter exclaimed, happily.

" _Prove me wrong._ " said Saal.

The presence of the Nova ships allowed Peter, Alyssa, Gamora, Drax and Groot to fly the _Milano_ inside the Dark Aster.

"Yes!" Drax exclaimed, excitedly, as they crashed into the Dark Aster. "Yes!" Peter, Alyssa and Gamora looked at each other, creeped out by his excitement.

"We're just like Kevin Bacon." Gamora said, looking at Peter and smiling after they came to a stop.

* * *

 **Location: The Dark Aster**

Peter, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Alyssa left the _Milano_ and made their way through the Dark Aster, Alyssa wincing slightly as she went.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked her, concerned.

"Sorry we crashed your ship." said Peter, knowing what was wrong.

"I can be fixed." said Alyssa. He nodded.

"I can barely see." said Drax. Groot released glowing particles from his hand to light the way. "When did you learn to do that?"

"I'm pretty sure the answer is "I am Groot"." said Peter.

"The flight deck is three hundred metres this way." said Gamora.

"I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance after my blunders." said Drax. "It is pleasing to once again have friends. You, Quill, are my friend."

"Thanks." said Peter.

"This spaceship is my friend."

"Thank you." said Alyssa.

"This dumb tree, he is my friend."

"Mmm." said Groot.

"And this green whore, she, too..."

"Oh, you must stop!" Gamora exclaimed, stopping and turning to him. They were interrupted by Nebula.

"Gamora, look at what you have done." said Nebula. "You have always been weak. You stupid, traitorous..." Drax fired a shot at her sending her flying away.

"Nobody talks to my friends like that." he said.

"Head to the flight deck." said Gamora. "I'll shut down the power to the security doors."

Peter, Alyssa, Drax and Groot were intercepted by Korath and Ronan's crew and they stopped, facing off.

"Star-Lord." said Korath.

"Finally." said Peter, smiling.

He, Alyssa, Drax and Groot started to fight against Korath and Ronan's men. Groot threw and kicked the men around. Drax used his knives to stab the men and also physically threw them around. Peter was thrown down onto the ground by Korath who was then punched hard by Alyssa.

Alyssa helped her pilot to his feet and they stood back-to-back, him firing his guns at the men and her firing her electricity blasts at them. Peter then dropped down to the ground and swept his legs out to trip up some of the men; at the same time, Alyssa flew up into the air and fired a large electrical blast at them, making sure not to hit Peter, Drax and Groot.

Eventually, Drax grabbed Korath and held him up against the wall.

"Finger to the throat means death." said Drax, before killing Korath then walking over to Peter and Alyssa. "Metaphor."

"Yeah, sorta." said Peter. "Oh no."

More of Ronan's men came running towards them. Groot skewered a bunch of them and whipped them around to take out the rest, before turning to Peter, Alyssa and Drax and giving them a big smile.

" _Quill, you gotta hurry._ " Rocket's voice said into their comms. " _The city's been evacuated, but we're getting our asses kicked down here._ " Peter, Alyssa, Drax and Groot continued to fight Ronan's men as they made their way to the bridge.

"Gamora hasn't opened the door!" said Peter.

"Let me." said Alyssa.

She pulled her arm back and punched the door open, seeing Gamora and Nebula fighting. She fired a blast of electricity at Nebula, knocking her out of the open hole in the side of the ship.

"Thank you." said Gamora.

Alyssa nodded back and the five of them made their way to where Ronan was and Peter shot Ronan with the Hadron Enforcer.

"You did it!" exclaimed Drax.

Ronan suddenly rose back up and used his warhammer to throw the group aside. Alyssa absorbed the energy into her body and released it back onto Ronan, but it had no effect on him. Drax rushed towards him but Ronan grabbed him by the throat and held him up.

"I was mistaken, I do remember your family." Ronan told him. "Their screams were pitiful. I..."

He was cut off by Rocket crashing an M-ship into the bridge and seemingly killing Ronan. The group huddled together as the Dark Aster started to fall from the sky and Groot formed a giant nest around them for protection.

"No, Groot!" said Rocket. "You can't, you'll die. Why are you doing this? Why?" Tears fell from his eyes and Groot wiped them away with a branch.

"We...are...Groot."


	8. Ain't No Mountain High Enough

**Location:** **Xandar**

Alyssa groaned as she looked up and around at the crashed Dark Aster and the group - Peter, Gamora, Drax and Rocket - lying on the surface of Xandar. She heard the faint sound of music and turned to see Peter's tape deck which was, miraculously, still playing.

"Alyssa...?" she heard Peter ask quietly from beside her, and she turned to face him.

"Peter?" she replied. "How...how am I still here?" Peter's gaze flickered to the wreckage of the _Milano_ then back at her.

"Groot's shield probably protected you the same as us, even though your ship was destroyed." he said.

"It's not all destroyed, though." she said. "Your tape deck is still playing."

"How...?"

"I don't know."

"I called him an idiot." a sad voice said, and they looked to see Rocket looking sadly at a twig that he had picked up from what was left of Groot. Just then, Ronan emerged from the wreckage of the Dark Aster.

"Seriously?" Alyssa and Peter muttered, quietly.

"You killed Groot!" Rocket exclaimed, angrily. He ran at Ronan who used his warhammer to throw Rocket aside.

"Behold! Your Guardians of the Galaxy!" Ronan exclaimed. "What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father and his father shall finally know vengeance. People of Xandar, the time has come to rejoice and renounce your paltry gods! Your salvation is at hand."

" _Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter._ "

Alyssa and Gamora both looked to see Peter singing. Gamora stared at him as if he was crazy, Ronan stared at him in confusion and Alyssa just smiled and shook her head.

"Now say these words." Peter said to Ronan, then he started to sing again. " _Ooh-oo child, things are gonna get easier. Ooh-oo child, things'll get brighter_. Now bring it down hard." He started to dance as he continued to sing. " _Some day, we'll get it together and we'll get it..._ "

"What are you doing?" asked Ronan.

"Dance-off, bro. Me and you." said Peter. As he danced, he held his hand out to Gamora. "Gamora." She shook her head. "Subtle. Take it back." He held out his other hand. "Alyssa." She also shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Ok."

"What are you doing?" Ronan repeated.

"I'm distracting you, you big turd blossom."

Ronan turned to see Rocket and Drax beside him, the latter of whom used the Hadron Enforcer to destroy the warhammer and free the Infinity Stone. Both Ronan and Peter went to grab it.

"No!" Gamora shouted.

"Peter!" Alyssa shouted.

Peter grabbed the Stone and was surrounded by a whirling purple cloud of energy. Ronan smiled as it started to destroy him and Gamora and Alyssa desperately called out to their friend. Eventually, Peter heard them and they each held onto him, Gamora taking his hand and Alyssa putting her hand on his shoulder. Drax and Rocket joined them and soon the five of them stood there, sharing the Stone's energy between them.

"You're mortal!" said Ronan. "How?"

"You said it yourself, bitch." said Peter. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

They used the Stone's power to kill Ronan and Gamora used the Orb to contain the Stone. Yondu and the other Ravagers then turned up.

"Well, well, well. Quite the light show." said Yondu, chuckling. "Ain't this sweet. But you got some business to attend to before all the nookie-nookie starts."

"Peter, you can't." said Gamora. "Peter."

"You have to reconsider this, Yondu." said Alyssa. "You saw what it's capable of. You need to give it to the Nova Corps."

"I may be as pretty as an angel, but I sure as hell ain't one." replied Yondu. "Hand it over." Alyssa and Peter looked at each other, then Peter reluctantly handed the Orb to Yondu. The Ravager captain turned to leave.

"Yondu!" Peter called after him. "Do not open that orb! You know that, right?" Yondu chuckled and walked off, and Peter, Alyssa and Gamora watched the Ravager ships take off. "He's gonna be so pissed when he realises I switched out the Orb on him." Peter held the Orb that actually contained the Stone and Alyssa and Gamora chuckled.

"Or he might be amused by it." said Alyssa. "This is you we're talking about here. Yondu has rather a soft spot for his little Terran."

"You're looking better." said Peter. She looked down and saw that her avatar had become more flesh-like.

"Perhaps it was holding onto the Infinity Stone that helped." she said. Both of them then laughed in relief.

* * *

 **Location: Nova Corps Headquarters**

"Why would you even know this?" asked Peter. He was standing in the Nova Corps Headquarters with Alyssa and Gamora, where Nova Prime and Corpsman Dey had shown him a diagram of his biology with _something_ that was different.

"When we arrested you, we noticed an anomaly in your nervous system, so we had it checked out." said Dey.

"I'm not Terran?"

"You are half Terran." said Nova Prime. "Your mother was of Earth. Your father, well, he's something very ancient we've never seen here before."

"That explains how you were able to hold onto the Stone for so long." said Alyssa. A door opened and Drax and Rocket walked in, the latter carrying a pot with a little Groot planted in it.

"Your friends have arrived. On behalf of the Nova Corps, we'd like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar. If you will follow Denarian Dey, he has something to show you."

Peter, Alyssa and Gamora thanked her and followed Dey, Gamora walking next to Drax, Alyssa and Peter walking together and Rocket carrying Groot.

"You're feeling much better." Peter told her, smiling.

"I am." Alyssa replied, smiling back. She had a feeling about why but she kept it to herself, not wanting to spoil it for Peter. That didn't mean that she wasn't still as surprised as him when Dey led them outside and they saw that the _Milano_ had been restored.

"We tried to keep it as close to the original as possible." said Dey. "We salvaged as much as we could."

"Wow, I..." said Peter, suddenly speechless. "Thank you."

"Thank you so much." said Alyssa. "You have no idea how much this means to us."

"I might have some idea." replied Dey. "When we were restoring your ship, it was almost as if she was aIive." Alyssa and Peter looked at him and he winked, smiling. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you, Dey." said Alyssa, smiling back.

"I have a family who are alive because of you." said Dey. "Your criminal records have also been expunged. However, I have to warn you against breaking any laws in the future."

"Question." said Rocket. "What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?"

"Well, you will be arrested."

"But what if I want it more than the person who has it?"

"Still illegal."

"That doesn't follow. No, I want it more, sir. Do you understand?" Gamora laughed and Rocket turned to her. "What are you laughing at? Why? I can't have a discussion with this gentleman?" He followed her to the _Milano_.

"What if someone does something irksome and I decide to remove his spine?" asked Drax.

"That's...that's actually murder." said Dey. "It's one of the worst crimes of all, so also illegal." Drax nodded and made his way to the _Milano_.

"Don't worry, Dey." said Alyssa. "We'll keep an eye on them."

* * *

 **Location: The** _**Milano** _

Peter and Alyssa boarded the _Milano_ and Alyssa integrated herself into the ship, starting up the engines. The atmosphere in the ship turned to happiness and excitement and Peter smiled, happy that she was happy.

Peter sat down with the letter and the present that he received from his mother all those years ago. He smiled at the words written down then opened up his gift and smiled when he saw the cassette tape. He put the tape into his tape deck and pressed play.

 _Listen baby, ain't no mountain high_

 _Ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby_

 _If you need me call me, no matter where you are_

 _No matter how far; don't worry baby_

 _Just call my name, I'll be there in a hurry_

 _You don't have to worry_

 _Oh baby, there ain't no mountain high enough_

 _Ain't no valley low enough_

 _Ain't no river wide enough_

 _To keep me from getting to you babe_

The team prepared to take off. Peter and Rocket were sitting in the two pilot seats, Rocket looking down at a waking Groot plant. Alyssa was sitting in the captain's chair behind them and Drax and Gamora were standing either side of her.

"So, what should we do next?" asked Peter. "Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?"

"We'll follow your lead, Star-Lord." said Gamora. Peter smiled.

"Bit of both!"

The _Milano_ took off, taking the Guardians of the Galaxy towards new adventures.


End file.
